


Locked In

by AquaFlower



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Best Friends, Disney, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship/Love, Interspecies, Interspecies Awkwardness, Interspecies Relationship(s), Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde Friendship, Mating Cycles/In Heat, My First Work in This Fandom, POV Judy Hopps, POV Nick Wilde, Partners to Lovers, Partnership, Sexual Tension, Some Humor, Zootopia (City), Zootopia Police Department, wildehopps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-10 01:50:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11117373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AquaFlower/pseuds/AquaFlower
Summary: Set during the holiday season; Judy makes plans to visit her family and invites Nick along. Everything seems great til some minor misunderstandings escalate into a fight between the two which resort into them somehow getting locked in the ZPD maintenance closet. What could possibly go even more wrong? (Did I mention it's mating season for a certain fox as well?)





	1. Chapter 1

Author note: This story was meant to be a holiday-ish fic but I got incredibly busy. Still not quite finished but a good ways done. This is a WildeHopps fic so if you don't like, go elsewhere. I have an idea for a larger fic but this one is practice for me at writing the characters so i'm getting it done first.   
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“It’s locked”

“What do you mean it’s locked? Nick, if this is another one of your jokes…”

“Why in the heck would I joke about this Carrots?! The door…is locked! L-O-C-K-E-D, locked! We can’t open it! We’re stuck in here til someone finds us!”

Judy watched her animated partner throw his arms to emphasize his words and then proceeded to end his rant with the cross of his arms and back slumped against the wall. All the while he refused to make eye contact with her.

Who could blame him? After all, it was partially her fault for getting them in this mess. Here they were, locked in the ZPD’s maintenance closet; all while everyone had gone home for the holiday. Not only was she going to miss her train home for the weekend but no one was scheduled til Monday…how would they hang on til then? Especially since she was pretty sure the building’s heat had been turned off to save energy and last she checked; temperatures outside were in the single digits. Not to mention…

She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she shifted her legs a bit. ‘That’ was the whole reason they were in this mess. Albeit, she was a bit irritated with Nick sticking his nose where it didn’t belong; she really hadn’t deemed it necessary to tell her partner it was ‘that’ time of the month for her. Of course, being Nick…stupid, stupid Nick! He just HAD to assume the worst and that maybe she was hiding an injury due to his ‘smelling blood’. A brief part of her wondered if now would be a good time to finally tell him the truth? I mean, why not? He might as well see how dumb of a fox he’s been.

“Nick…I know right now you really don’t want to talk but if you could just listen…there’s…something I need to tell you.”

His ears perked a bit but all the while he kept his head turned to the side and his posture the same. “Really Carrots? After all this secrecy and us getting locked in for the weekend you decide NOW you wanna have your intervention…in the janitor’s closet?? You know the ‘dumb bunny’ shoes are really starting to show.”

She stomped her foot in response. “You know, if you want to insult me, fine! But at least hear me ou…”

He uncrossed his arms and took a step forward; startling her and setting her back a bit with his direct eye contact. Emerald eyes seething and hiding a bubbling brook of emotions she was sure he was biting his tongue to keep from conveying. “Fine…Hopps…talk.”

How she had wished with all her heart she had just had the guts to be honest with him sooner. All this over her stupid ‘cycle’.

\----------------------------***********24 hours prior***********-----------------------------

“Sooooo, any plans for the weekend?”

Judy Hopps spun around and met eyes with the chubby cheetah whom she had come to befriend as one of her many co-workers of the ZPD. “Actually, yeah, I’m off and heading home right now to give my family a call. I’m supposed to catch a train tomorrow evening and spend the weekend up in bunnyburrow. How about you Clawhauser, any plans?”

He leaned forward over his desk to stare down at her. “Weeelll, since you asked, I actually DO have plans this weekend! My mom’s promising to make her famous candy cane cheesecake and it is to DIE for! So I’m like, hey, why not stop by and pay her and my dad a visit! It’s not just for the food I swear! But hey, I haven’t seen them in a while and I’m sure they miss their only son, you know what I mean?”

Judy’s smile broadened at this “I didn’t know you were an only child!?”

Clawhauser reached over to an already opened box of candy canes sitting nearby and snatched himself one as he spoke “Oh, let me tell you little bunny, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. It got pretty lonely growing up but hey, at least I never had to fight a sibling for the last piece of pie, you know?” He turned to her with a candy cane sticking out of his mouth in which he slurped in, crunched, and swallowed all in one go. 

The rabbit just nodded in response and nearly jumped when she heard a deep voice above her. 

“Holidays aren’t started yet, you two. Don’t forget we all are here bright and early tomorrow morning. You’re still on the clock for another hour Clawhauser, back to work.” 

Judy looked up as the ZPD chief gave her a nod and made his way towards his office “Hopps, your partner is out front waiting on you. See to it you both make it home in a timely manner. I don’t like my officers showing up the next day out of it.”

She gave her usually salute. “Of course! See you tomorrow Sir!”

She heard the blue buffalo murmur a slight ‘whatever’ with the close of his office door as she turned around and ran out front to meet her partner and favorite fox.

“About time, Carrots. Here I was worried I was going to have to call for backup right in front of the ZPD no less.”

“Har har! Very funny.” She responded as she ushered him over to the passenger side and climbed in. “I was just making small chat with Clawhauser. Did you know he’s an only cub?”

“Fascinating...” Nick responded unenthusiastically. “You know what’s even more fascinating? Getting home before it gets dark. Less talking more driving, maybe, Carrots?”  
She sighed at her typically cynical partner. “Yeah yeah…”

***

When she had pulled up to Nick’s apartment building (Or where she assumed he lived. He had always just told her to ‘drop him off here’ and she never questioned it). He gave her his usually “see ya carrots” but before he could climb out fully; she startled him by grabbing him by the arm. He turned to her with an expression mixed with shock and confusion. 

The rabbit cleared her throat nervously. “Hey, Nick…what are you…doing for the holiday?”

Honestly the question had been eating at her. Nick hadn’t really mentioned much of his family save the one story he disclosed to her back when they had worked their first case. She started to wonder if maybe he and his mother had had a falling out and it worried her. She didn’t like thinking of Nick sitting at home alone on the holiday. Something about it really stirred her up inside a bit. She chucked it up for just a genuine concern for her friend. 

The expression she received after her question however, told her she had been on to something. His eyes darted away and his ears dropped. She could make out a bit of tiny frown forming on his face. “Not much…I’ve…never really been one for that sort of...”

“Come home with me!”

She had blurted her words out before she had time to think on the million implications that could have meant. As if on cue, her very expressive partner’s widened eyes made it all the more obvious to her on what she was saying could have been taken ten different sorts of wrong. She drew in a sharp breath. “I mean, not tonight! No! I meant…for the weekend! Come with me to bunnyburrow!”

“Carrots, that’s really nice and all bu…”

“I insist!” She emphasized her words by tugging a bit on the arm of his she still held. “Nobody should be alone on the holidays and you’re my friend and I know my family can be a bit….well I know they would welcome you and I just don’t like thinking of you alone and…”

This time it was her that was startled by Nick freeing his arm from the grip she had and placing his paw on her head. “Relax Carrots…if it means that much to you; I’ll go.” She caught his gaze and his trademark smile that had her heart leap a bit which she just chucked up to feeling good about doing something great for a friend.

“Oh Nick! Thank you! I promise we’ll have a good time and it’ll be a fun weekend for us both!”

He gave her a lazy salute as he got out of the car. “I’ll hold you to that, fluff. Better not disappoint!”

She smiled to herself as she watched him go and proceeded to start up the police car and drive away humming her favorite Gazelle song. 

She’d never disappoint a friend. She’d make sure this weekend would be a memorable one for her and him both.  
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Author note: Kinda bumpy start but i'm still very new to this pair (and haven't written in ages). Hoping to get a little better as I go. Reviews are appreciated (I don't accept bashing; wastes my time and yours).


	2. chapter 2

Author's note: Forgive me if updates seem to be slow despite me having these chapters already written. I just gotten plagued with a sinus infection (I get these stupid things like 5-6 times a year). I'll try and get these out as soon as I can!  
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“You’ve got to be kidding!”

It was still the crack of dawn and Judy was proceeding to get ready for work. Things were going fine til she noticed a certain stain on her pajama shorts.

“No, no, no! Not now! Not before this weekend!!”

Of course mother nature had chosen NOW of all times. Not that she couldn’t deal with it under normal circumstances but there had been cases were her cramps had gotten so bad that even walking was a bit of a chore. 

“What a great time to be a female…” She murmured lightly as she added a sanitary napkin to her daily wardrobe and slipped a few more in a small pack she usually only carried on days like this (honestly, she was surprised nobody had picked up on it). 

With a sigh, she exited her apartment and made her way to the cruiser she had parked out front. She checked her watch real quick as she jumped in and started the vehicle. She was still making good time. Even with having to go grab Nick (and sweet cheese and crackers that fox always took a good fifteen minutes to come out and he usually still looked like he had just rolled outta bed in uniform) they could still stop somewhere for breakfast.

…  
..  
. 

Or at least…they COULD have stopped somewhere for breakfast had he not chosen today of all days to take even longer to come out. Judy tapped one paw impatiently on the wheel as she checked her watch on the opposite wrist again. “Come on Nick…I texted you almost 23 minutes ago! What is taking you so…?”

Her words were cut off as she watched the fox come down the front steps in a hurried mess like the building was gonna blow and open the passenger door and slam it shut behind him. “Shit…I’m so sorry Carrots! I overslept and honestly didn’t even hear your text til I woke up having to take the biggest pi…”

“It’s fine!” She interjected. He was given her way too much detail and she could honestly feel her face heating up over it all. Thank timothy’s grass for fur because she was certain it would show. “We just need to hurry so we’re not late.”

“Sooo…no breakfast then?”

She almost slammed her brakes in surprise but decided to go with a simple sigh instead. “Afraid not, Slick. We are kinda cutting it close as it is, sorry.” Her patience felt a little tight due to her ‘recent discovery’ this morning. She inwardly decided to put her best face on today and try and keep the peace between her and her partner. After all, it wasn’t his fault she was dealing with this sort of thing. “Hey! How about we take an extra hour for lunch today? It might make it a rush to pack for our trip but at least we’ll have eaten big enough to hold us for the day?” She gave him a winning smile as she parked out front of the ZPD headquarters. 

He returned her look with a lazy smile of his own. “Smart Bunny…yeaaah I think I can make that sacrifice.” 

She gave a slight jump of excitement in her seat right before they both proceeded to exit the car on either of their respective sides. “Well then! It’s a date!”

She heard him sigh heavily as they made their way up the front steps. “Too bad…I really WAS hoping to get off early buuuuut…”

She caught up to him and punched him playfully in the arm. “Okay! Now you’re just being a jerk!”

He tilted his head her direction as they made their way up to the front doors and gave his lazy trademark grin “Am I? Hadn’t noticed a difference.”

She laughed and proceeded to push on the glass door but stopped short when she realized Nick was no longer on her heels and had stopped cold in his tracks. She could see his reflection through the door and he looked a bit frazzled. She turned around to face him in worry and confusion. “Nick? Is…something the matter?”

She nearly gave out a yelp when he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the door and to the side. He spoke in a hurried and harsh whisper “Carrots…what’s going on?”

She returned his worried look with a confused one of her own. “Going…on? What are you talking about Nick?”

He shook his head and continued to speak in a quiet voice. “No! I know what I smell! You’re hurt somewhere! I couldn’t smell so well in the car…air freshener might as well be halfway up my nose! Was it before that? How long have you…?”

His grip on her was tightening with each word he spoke. So much so that Judy couldn’t help the yelp that escaped her due to the pain. This caused him to let go in a bit of shock and surprise. The smaller mammal then backed away in horror. Sweet cheese and crackers, of course he could smell it! Why hadn’t it occurred to her sooner that it was going to be obvious? Oh timothy’s grass, why did foxes have to have such a keen sense of smell? She should have just called in! There was no way she was going to be able to live this down if she had to explain this to Nick or anyone else today.

So she made her first big mistake of the day.

“Nick…I…I really don’t want to talk about this. It’s personal.” Something about what she said or the way she said it sounded really cold to her own ears. What or whichever it was; it had obviously struck a cord with Nick because she could see the hurt plain as day written on his face. Rather than try and explain herself; she made her second mistake and chose to walk past him and walk inside. She could feel a bit of a pang in her chest as she walked past Clawhauser, giving him a small nod. She barely noticed the cheetah’s confusion in her brief response as she made her way toward her cubicle in the office area. She was too distraught over having to shut out Nick but she just couldn’t tell him something like that!

She settled with sitting down at her desk and sorting through files til a call came in…all while telling herself that it was no big deal and he would get over it. 

Little did she know that it was a particular sensitive time for the fox as well.  
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Author's note: Short i know, I'm sorry. It was the best spot to end it though. My next one makes up for it by being a lot longer. I should have the next one up in the near future!


	3. chapter 3

Author's note: A bit longer than the last. This is the first time I'm writing from some of Nick's POV and let me tell you it's hard. I went into this thinking Judy's would be tougher but surprisingly, it comes a lot more naturally. Hopefully I can get both down pretty well by the time i'm done with this fic though. Onward to chapter 3!  
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Okay…yeah…that stung a bit.

Nick tried hard to shake the shock off as he was left standing on the ZPD’s front steps after the harsh response he got. It really was turning out to be a bad morning. Between Judy’s moodiness, which, he had picked up on the moment he stumbled into the car. That and…

He grimaced at the thought. Winter wasn’t exactly his favorite season…and not just because he was bundled in a coat over his already fuzzy natural one. Winter was the time he usually kept to himself. Winter was a fox’s mating season. He himself always felt like an emotional wreck during this time. Judy’s response to his concern hadn’t helped much with that. Why would she hide from him like that? Weren’t they supposed to be friends?

He shook his head out of his depressing thoughts. “Breakroom better have the coffee pot heated and full because this is gonna be a long day…” He mumbled as he pushed open the glass doors and headed inside.

***

Long it was for both of them. It didn’t help that the streets were pretty tame and nearly no calls came in. The ones that did; Bogo had decided to send other officers to cover it despite Judy’s insistence in trying to jump in…anything to just get out of that stuffy cubicle.

Especially since it was a back-to-back shared one with a certain fox…

It had been really awkward. She refused to make eye contact and kept about her paperwork which she knew wouldn’t keep her busy forever. She’d finish sorting and had nothing to do for most of the day. It wasn’t something she normally did, since she preferred the streets over office work any day; but she contemplated asking the chief for more files after she was done. She knew he had a huge stock of them that needed catching up on before the holiday and if things were gonna keep this level of awkwardness…

She jumped and nearly dropped the file in her paws as she felt the back of Nick’s chair lightly bump into hers. She didn’t even have to turn around in her seat to know he was craning his neck back and looking over his own shoulder. She could feel the heat of his breath on her ear and felt her face heat up a bit from the closeness. Since when had something like that bothered her so much? She figured it must have been the discomfort of her wanting to keep her ‘situation’ on low profile. She felt her breathing start to hitch a bit as he spoke.

“Carrots…I know you’re hiding something. I don’t know why cuz last I checked we were friends and being injured is kinda a big deal. I’m not asking to see it or anything; if it’s in a personal spot but…I just…you can trust me, you know. If there is anyone that’s hurting you…”

Without much thought, she abruptly stood up and kept her head low and eyes focused on the ground. “I’m sorry…I…I have to use the restroom...”

She made a beeline out of the area and down the hallway; hoping on everything that Nick wasn’t following her. Why did she do that? This was getting out of hand! Maybe she should just tell him just to get him off her back? It honestly surprised her a bit that he couldn’t even guess what the problem was. He seemed like the type that would know that ‘bird and bees’ sort of thing. Could he really not know what she was going through? And if so, wouldn’t that mean that even if she told him; she might have to go into bigger details? If that was the case; she’d rather keep her mouth shut. She was hardly comfortable with the subject as it was. Despite a bunny’s reputation; she really had never had much experience in that field. Being career driven always kept her flowing in the opposite direction. It was also on days like this when she had to make that extra restroom trip that she’d prefer to keep it that way too. She let out a deep sigh as she pushed open the door to the ladies room. She made a quick ‘change’ in the stall and then exited out and towards the sink to wash up. Slowly she raised her head and took a long look at her reflection. She was honestly surprised at how tame she looked. She had expected a bit more frazzle and maybe some dark lines under the eyes with how she was feeling. 

Shutting the water off; she shook her head roughly and smacked her wet paws lightly on both sides of her cheeks. She was acting like a dumb middle-schooler. No…she wasn’t gonna let the rest of the day go like this! She was on lunch in a half-hour and three more hours after that til she was off for the day. She made up her mind and decided she’d tell Nick before the trip. However…work really wasn’t the best place to brooch the subject. No…it’d be best if she confront him and tell him she’d talk to him about it after work since it was kinda personal. She watched her reflection as her smile she normally wore slowly started making its way back to the surface. She twirled around and skipped lightly towards the door and back down the hallway. Despite feeling a bit ‘crampy’; she was already feeling a bit more herself now that she had a bit of a game plan. 

Yeah…things should definitely be okay now!

***

Things were not okay. 

The moment she got back; she could feel her smile slowly fall as she noticed her partner’s empty desk and the ‘lunch’ poster sitting taped on top of it. She felt her heart sink a bit. He had taken an early lunch…meaning that he had chosen to go eat solo. There was only one time they had taken separate lunches and that was due to her having to finish some extra paperwork she fell behind on; and even then, Nick had left and came back during his lunch to eat at his desk and brought her back something and ate next to her as she worked. This…this was the first time he willingly chose to eat lunch without her.

“I…I really messed up…” She murmured. Maybe it was because of her ‘cycle’ but it was taking everything she had not to just collapse at her desk and breakdown into a waterfall of tears. She really felt the sinking feeling of defeat creeping up on her. She turned her head back towards Nick’s desk…gears turning in her head slowly. She shook her head and replaced her frown with a look of determination. She wasn’t going to let this all fall that easily. She promised a good weekend to Nick and she was going to keep that promise. Reaching in one of her desk drawers; she pulled out her own lunch sign and set it on top. With a nod of satisfaction, she grabbed the patrol car keys from the front-most desk drawer and hurriedly made her way out of the office area and towards the front entrance. 

She had one hour to find Nick and set things straight…even if it meant telling him about ‘that’ now. 

***

Well if that’s how it was gonna be…fine.

It had taken Nick a bit of courage to work up the nerve to approach Judy a second time and when he did; she shut him down again. Just when he had thought she truly trusted him. Why was she always leading him in these circles? He’d get too close and then she would show that his feelings were unfounded. Was it really all in his head? Maybe she never did trust him? Maybe everything up to this point had just been nothing? Maybe she was still using him somehow? Come to think of it, she did use him when they first met. He had thought things had changed after that but then she gave that one speech. It was that speech that had caused a lot of distrust in their relationship…distrust he thought would never be repaired. And yet they when it was and they had caught Bellweather and had made it out; he thought for sure he had found somebody…somebody who would be by his side for a long time. Granted it had only been a few months since he had joined the force but he’d be lying to himself if he said it hadn’t crossed his mind that maybe his feelings for her were a bit deeper than friendship. That though was something he had to shut deep down due to all the controversy he knew it would create. Interspecies relationships were quite frowned upon and that was just speaking of different prey and prey or different predator and predator…one could only imagine what society would think of a predator and prey relationship. Not really something he wanted to put Judy through…she had dealt with enough already what with being the first bunny cop and all. 

Yet after all that; here they were again. In the same boat they had been when he had first confronted her and she nearly pulled some fox repellent on him. He stood up from his office chair. He couldn’t wait for her to come back. He needed to get away and get time to think. This season always messed with his head and he already could feel his emotions going off the charts. As much as he hated to do this to her; he was going to have to eat lunch alone today. He slid his lunch sign on his desk and swiftly made his way out front. He was nearly in the clear when he heard the voice of Clawhauser stop him in his tracks. 

“Oh? You guys not eating together today?”

Nearly cursing under his breath, he spun to face the big cat with his classic smile in tow. “Yeah,.. ‘fraid not. Wasn’t really feeling like a chaperone type of day to me. She’s catchin’ up on some work right now to finish up for the holiday.”

Nick Wilde prided himself in very few things but lying had always been second nature to him. He must have not gotten too rusty during his time as an officer because judging from the cheetah’s expression; he bought it. “Oh! Yeah, that makes sense! I heard she was going outta town so I doubt she’d wanna come in early Monday morning after that long trip! You have yourself a fantabulous lunch then, okay?”

“Always do.” Nick gave the large feline a simple wave, turned casually on heel and swiftly waltzed out. He figured he’d grab a bite at the diner next door across the lot. It wasn’t even a minute walk and was pretty dead from what he could see. They also had some booths so he could sit and take some time to himself for a bit. He just really wasn’t ready to face Judy. Not to mention he had forgotten all about the weekend. Would he still wanna go with her after today? Yeah…he really needed to think about this a bit. He let out a deep sigh as he pushed open the diner doors. 

‘Maybe it would be best…if I didn’t spend the weekend with her…’ He thought glumly.   
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Author's note: Still a little shaky with the writing but i'm getting there. I had to go back and clean up a lot due to I didn't like how dull the writing sounded. Next chapter should hopefully be up in a couple days at most. Thanks so much for the read. Good reviews also help with motivation!


	4. chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author note: i apologize for the delay. After being sick we had a tornado hit our area where i live and lost power for a good day or so. Damage on the streets was and is still pretty bad. I'm still a little iffy on how i feel about this chapter but i've re-cleaned it up so many times that i think it's time i just let it be and send it on its way so here it is.

It didn’t take a detective to know exactly where Nick was. She knew that he would use his lunch to eat regardless. Meaning that he would be at a restaurant. Secondly, he didn’t have the keys to the police suv; so he was most likely at a place in walking distance. Thirdly, he was one of the laziest guys she knew so he would pick the closest location. 

All these things eliminated it only to one place-

The Prisimal Café next door. 

As fast as her little hind paws would take her; the female officer bolted down the sidewalk and cut through the parking lot towards the front of the bland-looking café. She skidded to a halt at the entrance and pushed open the doors. Sure enough, her fox was there. He was in the last booth with his back facing her. She also noticed that he was closest to the window; meaning he had space next to him. This was good. She could sneak up without him noticing and slide right next to him with no chance of him getting away. She hated the idea of being so pushy but sometimes she felt he gave her no choice. She figured it was something they would have to address and work on down the road. For now, she had to focus on the task at hand. She would talk to Nick and no mammal was going to stand in her way.

Zootopia…city of dreams and cruel ironies…

Judy hadn’t even taken three steps and was nearly trampled as a huge rush of all kinds large mammals piled in; obscuring her view of the lone fox. Sweet cheese and crackers; of course it would be crowded around lunch hour today of all days! What rotten luck! She carefully pushed her way through the crowd towards the direction of Nick.

Or…where he once was…

‘No no no!’ her thoughts screamed inwardly. He had obviously snuck out the back door while she had been trapped in the crowd. Now what? This would have been the perfect place to talk! He more than likely was back at the office and she didn’t want to disclose it THERE! There were way too many mammals with good ears that would more than likely hear them! Now she was gonna have to wait til after work which was not going to be for almost another 3 more hours! She sighed and scooted out the back door (the one Nick most likely took) and headed to the juice bar next door. She figured she’d grab a carrot smoothie to go and head back to the office with what was sure to be a very long 3 hour shift.

***  
When she had gotten back; she found Nick sitting at his desk deep into his own paperwork. If it had been under any other circumstance; she would have teased him about how intense he looked over it. It was a rare sight in itself and honestly, she liked seeing that side of him. He looked determined and hard-working; and to know that it was an honest and good job he was doing made her feel almost proud of him. He really was a good mammal…

She shook her head out of her thoughts. She really didn’t deserve to see this side of him today. She had been nothing but cold to him and she was honestly lucky he hadn’t requested to work at an empty desk today. It was that thought though that made her hopeful that there was still a chance to talk to him later. She sat down at her desk and went to sorting her own work in silence. She hoped and prayed these few hours would go by fast. 

***

Maybe about four restroom trips and three vending machine visits later (not that it was a big deal; she was sure Nick had made double of both of those); they were off the clock. The chief had stopped by at one point to tell them he was putting the doors on auto-lock at closing time so to make sure they were out or they’d be locked in all weekend. Clawhauser had stopped in to wish them well when he was off too. It had become pretty obvious to Judy that Nick was having the same struggle she was with putting on a face for everyone to sound somewhat cheery. Needless to say at this point they were some of the last few officers in the building aside from Chief Bogo. Judy started to gather up her bag and keys when out of the corner of her eye she saw Nick get up and walk off…and not towards the direction of the door. She scrambled up and jogged to catch up to him. 

‘You’ve got to be kidding!’ She thought. We have less than ten minutes to be out of the building and he chooses NOW to wander off! She could feel a bit of a temper start to rise as she chased after him calling out his name while doing so. 

“Nick! Nick!! We have to go or we’ll be locked in!!”

She watched him up ahead stop short in front of the maintenance closet; his back still facing her. “Not like it matters to me. I have nowhere to be this weekend.”

She felt a bit of a pang in her chest at this; but she couldn’t blame him for how he felt. He’d have to be a true idiot if he wanted to go with her after how she treated him. This was the second time she had showed distrust and saying she was more than ashamed was putting it lightly. She cared for him so much…maybe even loved him…and yet; she treated him like he didn’t matter…like his feelings didn’t matter. She drew in a shaky breath and spoke quietly but firmly.

“Nick…if this is about earlier; I’m really sorry.”

The Nick she knew would have turned around and heard her out. Today’s Nick however was different. Something about his barking tone was a bit aggressive and she wondered if maybe she really had gone too far this time.

“You’re sorry? You know sorry doesn’t fix everything, right Carrots?” At this, he did turn around and she felt her breath catch tightly in her throat. She couldn’t recall a time where Nick’s eyes gleamed so darkly. The last time she felt this fear from him, even but slightly, was after she had given that horrid speech. Again, it was ever so brief and slight. This time however, she really felt like cornered prey…so to speak. 

Though even now, he was still the same dumb fox she grew to love and all be darned if she’d let anything change that! Dropping her bag and clenching her fists at her sides; she boldly took a step forward…then two… then two more til she was almost snout to snout with the taller mammal….save the height difference as she had to hold her head up. “I…I know. I also know that I’ve been a jerk to you and I want to make things right.” 

“Carrots, I’m really not in the mood to talk right now. Can it wait til next week? Don’t you have a train to catch soon anyways?”

She stomped her foot in anger at this. Why did he have to be so difficult sometimes? “That’s EXACTLY why it CAN’T wait! We were supposed to go together, Nick! I don’t want you to be alone this weeken…”

Her voice died in her throat as she heard footsteps coming. She didn’t need anyone, especially if it was the chief himself (which she wouldn’t doubt it was) hearing them fight like this. It would ruin everything…including her having the guts to tell Nick what was really going on with her. The last thing she wanted was an audience! 

Before Nick could protest, she pushed him inside the nearby closet and darted right afterward; closing the door behind them both. 

“Carrots! What are yo…?”

“Shhhh!” She placed both paws over his mouth; keeping her ears alert as the footsteps grew louder. There was but a dim light dangling above them that ran 24/7 as an emergency light. It was enough though that she could see Nick’s look of shock. Maybe it was her eyes playing tricks on her but she could almost swear there was a tinge of reddening to his face. Was he…blushing?

Her thoughts were then refocused on the footsteps outside that seem to be getting more faint. From the sound of it; they must have taken a turn at the hall before this one; which was a good thing since there was a good chance they would be able to pick up the scents of them both had they passed the closet. When she was sure they were in the clear; she uncovered the fox’s mouth and breathed a sigh of relief. Before she could say a word; Nick beat her to it.

“You bunnies have some weird hang out spots. Or is there some secret route in here that leads to bunnyburrow?”

Judy knew it was just her cycle controlling her emotions but she could help but feel a little temper rise. “Nick! For once can you just be serious!”

“Hmm…A fox and a bunny hanging out inside the maintenance closet of the ZPD…can’t get any more serious than that!” He gave her a smug smile and she could feel that boiling point rise again. She could feel burning up to her ears which she was sure was probably a side effect of her current ‘cycle’. Was she hallucinating or had she heard a loud click sound? Cheese and crackers, she better not be coming down with a fever. She needed air. She needed to get them out of here and in the open. Perhaps then, too, she could talk to him at either of their places while they packed? In any case, staying in here was pointless.

“Ugh! Never mind! Just…open the door.”

He gave a bit of a bow as he turned to face the door. “As you wish, madam.” She heard him jiggle the handle a bit in what should have been a simple turn of the knob. She watched with a sinking feeling at him start to form a dancing struggle with a no-budging handle. After what was about half a minute, he stopped and turned around slowly. The solemn expression he wore was one that had that sinking feeling she felt drop hard in her stomach. 

“It’s locked.”

\----------------------------***********current moment***********---------------------------

“Nick…I have been…hiding something from you…”

The fox scoffed at her response and tapped his paw on his snout. “My nose could have told you that.” He turned directly toward her again; his face a bit more softened this time. “Carrots…why wouldn’t you tell me what’s wrong from the get go? What the heck kind of injury is this that you couldn’t tell your partne…”

“I’m menstruating!” 

Somehow, despite being in a small closet; Judy was sure that those two words she said had echoed throughout almost all of zootopia. Never had there been such a more awkward situation between them and honestly, she couldn’t even get the nerve to look the fox in the eye. Despite their closeness, she kept her head down and eyes glued to the floor as she spoke. “I’m…I’m sorry. I was immature…and rude…and I despite how worried you were over me; I didn’t take your feelings into account. I should have just told you up front but I was so embarrassed and I…” She placed her paws over her face briefly to keep the flaming heat on her cheeks from escaping. She then dropped them at her sides and raised her head a bit so as to focus on the fox’s black tie. She still had yet to muster the courage to look at him directly but figured this was a start. “…I don’t blame you if you don’t want to talk to me after this. I was acting like some dumb little girl and I…I really don’t deserve your friendship. This is…the second time I’ve hurt you like this and I…Nick I…I just…” At this she slowly raised her head and could feel her heart nearly beating miles a minute and the sound nearly stripped from her ears save a ringing noise. “...I’m really, very sor…”

Her words died as her purple orbs finally met green. The expression she was met with was the last she could have expected. Before she could even think twice; her mouth formed the front-most question that sat on the tip of her tongue. 

“Nick? Why…are you smiling at me like that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author note: Hopefully that wasn't too rough. From here on out I might be a bit slower on updates. Life has been pretty busy at home but I will try to get to this when i can. I can promise though that this fic won't die and will get finished.


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